Strathmore neighbors come together to cut crime

Mike Greenlar / The Post-StandardPeople in the Strathmore neighborhood of Syracuse have taken steps to reduce crime. Their multi-faceted plan of attack is working. The gazebo is in Onondaga Park, with Roberts Avenue in the background.

John Berry / The Post-StandardJohn Lacey is president of the Greater Strathmore Neighborhood Association.

Syracuse, NY -- Newlywed John Lacey, 33, counted a home break-in every other day in July in his Strathmore neighborhood.

It wasn't just the increase of burglaries that got his attention. The burglaries became brazen, occurring in daylight or when someone was in the home.

On Oct. 27, a 76-year-old woman was tied up and robbed in her home by a man who brought a boy with him. On Nov. 5, a 67-year-old man was mugged by two youths in Upper Onondaga Park.

Lacey, an employee of Eric Mower and Associates and president of the Greater Strathmore Neighborhood Association, wasn't the only one to notice.

"When these things happen, people speak up and demand action," said Tim Rosbrook, 42, president of the Onondaga Park Association.

An alliance of the neighborhood and park associations and Strathmore Men's Athletic Club worked with police, City Hall, the district attorney's office and the city schools on three fronts to fight crime.

The groups sought to change the way schools deal with students and a park deals with traffic. They demanded more police patrols and followed closely what happened to those arrested in the neighborhood.

The result, Lacey said, is that burglaries in the neighborhood have dropped to almost zero. Police confirm burglaries are down, but acknowledge cold weather might be a factor.

"It's not a doom and gloom kind of situation. It's neighbors meeting neighbors and making it better," said Jason Allers, president of the men's athletic club.

Word in the neighborhood was that Corcoran High School has an open campus policy, allowing students to leave whenever they wanted. This, said Rosbrook and Corcoran High School Principal Leo Cosgrove, is a myth. There was never such a policy, they said.

"We had kids leaving when they're not supposed to be leaving," Rosbrook said.

Those students would then wander the neighborhood, he said.

Cosgrove agrees the problem was students leaving school grounds without permission.

The three neighborhood groups invited Cosgrove to a meeting.

"It got, from my standpoint, a lot accomplished," Cosgrove said.

The school formulated a plan. Hall monitors were placed on the doors, holes in student schedules that allowed the students to leave were closed and Cosgrove patrolled the outside of the school at lunch, making sure students were where they were supposed to be, Cosgrove said.

Onondaga Park is a big draw for students leaving the campus, Cosgrove said. Police set up patrols with an eye to rounding up truants, he said.

Onondaga Park is on the neighborhood's southern border. The park also served as a high-speed short cut, Rosbrook said.

A while back, someone walking through the park might have seen small plastic bags that once held illegal drugs and condoms littering the ground, Rosbrook said. A hill that dominated the park became a perfect spot for drug dealers, he said, since anyone approaching the hill could be seen from a distance.

The neighborhood set out to change the park from a short cut to a destination, Rosbrook said. The groups got the city to change the entrances and exits from the park, to change traffic patterns, to close the summit to traffic and to establish bicycle and pedestrian lanes in the park.

"That made a significant difference, not only in speeding, but in traffic," Rosbrook said.

Eye on crime

The inability to prosecute juvenile offenders is "far beyond a city issue," Allers said. It becomes a neighborhood issue when the same offenders break into more houses in the neighborhood, he said.

The association tracks the cases of those charged with crimes in the neighborhood through residents who are involved in the justice system, such as lawyers, police and judges, Allers said.

The association sends the county District Attorney's Office letters about those charged with crimes in the neighborhood.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Rick Trunfio said he met not only with the victims, but with the neighborhood leaders, as well, to explain cases and how the justice system works.

Trunfio praised the organization of the neighborhood, saying they are "right up at the top" of city neighborhood associations.

A combination of neighbors' heightened vigilance and the city honoring a request for more patrol cars in the area paid off Nov. 10.

Two 17-year-old Corcoran students were caught that day hiding inside the closet of a Strathmore home. Police made the collar after a neighbor called 911 about suspicious teenagers loitering near the house, Miguel said. The police response time was 11 seconds.

The department's Community Policing Division assigned two officers in two cars to the neighborhood after the mugging in the park Nov. 5, Police Lt. Joe Cecile said. The division continues to keep the two officers in the neighborhood, Cecile said.

Other divisions also sent patrol cars to the neighborhood, Cecile said.

Lacey, who keeps track through the Neighborhood Watch and from neighbors, said burglaries have been reduced to zero in recent weeks.

The neighborhood had two break-ins in December and none in January, according to police records.

Sgt. Tom Connellan, speaking for police, said increased police patrols might have helped reduce the number of burglaries, although burglaries often drop during the winter.

Neighborhood involvement

Whenever a new family moves into the neighborhood, the neighborhood association sends someone to visit. The family is then added to the hundreds of neighbors on a list of e-mail addresses, and the family is invited to meetings.

"Sometimes they have children, sometimes they don't," Rosbrook said. "They're participating in the neighborhood. They're volunteering for things."

The Strathmore Men's Athletic Club was formed as another way to get people involved, Allers said. It tends to serve as the neighborhood volunteer committee, whenever someone needs manpower for a project, he said.

But it also served another purpose: It added another voice about the concerns in the neighborhood.

"No one would listen to me otherwise if I wasn't the president of an association," said Allers, 38, an insurance agent.

Communication is the key, Strathmore leaders say.

To allow for greater communication, the Strathmore groups sought not-for-profit status that allows them to apply for grants, Allers said. Grant money pays for the newsletter and the neighborhood's Internet presence, Allers said.